State health officials say several factors, including the improved economy, are behind the 7 percent drop last year in Missouri and 9 percent reduction in Tennessee of Medicaid recipients. But advocates for the poor are worried the states’ efforts to weed out residents who are improperly enrolled has led to people mistakenly forced off the rolls.

Health was a featured player in President Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address. The president set goals to bring down prescription drug prices, end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and cure childhood cancer, among other things. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week. Rovner also interviews KHN senior correspondent Phil Galewitz about the current “Bill of the Month” feature.

A growing number of community hospitals are forming alliances with some of the nation’s biggest and most prestigious institutions. But for prospective patients, it can be hard to assess what these relationships actually mean.

At one Seattle public school, students earn their diplomas while attending daily support groups and meeting with counselors to help them stay off drugs and alcohol. There are about 40 similar schools around the country, both public and private, and more are on the drawing board.

In a unique crackdown on what it sees as “excessive prescribing,” the state medical board is investigating hundreds of doctors whose patients ultimately died of opioid overdoses — whether or not the doctors prescribed the fatal medications.

Members of the new Democratic majority in the House are vowing to reverse restrictions that Republicans have imposed on abortions. But the efforts could lead to titanic fights that imperil other legislation.